Callpod, the makers of cellphone accessories like the Chargepod have announced their own long-range Bluetooth 2.0 headsets:

The Onyx and Vetro Bluetooth® headsets both offer a 164 ft (50m) range, which allows users to extend the boundaries of traditional headsets. It allows users to roam around the office or home without being tethered to their cell phone. The Onyx and Vetro can also simultaneously connect to your PC or Mac for Skype® calls, allowing you to switch between your computer and mobile phone with a press of a button. In addition, the headsets have advanced dual-mic noise suppression™, which allows callers on the other end of the call to enjoy a strong clear voice even if the user is in the car, airport, restaurant or at the office.

The Onyx and Vetro can be used with other Vetro, Onyx or Dragon V2 headsets for two-way or push to talk communication over a 84,000+ sq ft space. The new headset takes about 3 hours to fully charge via USB port or outlet and provides up to 5 hours talk time and over 120 hours on standby.

Armed with good looks and extended range as well as noise-suppression, the Onyx and Vetro are also priced aggressively too. The Onyx is currently available for $69.95 and the Vetro is currently available for $99.95. Both are compatible with all Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones, PDAs VoIP products and computers.

[ Links: Callpod ]

The problem with most Bluetooth earpieces is that they all look alike. Most are black or gray and show very little individuality whatsoever. Earloomz is out to change that. Starting July 4th, 2010, Earloomz has started to sell their bluetooth earpieces with pop art and popular cultural references adorning the side that faces everybody as a testament to your style.

Launching on July 4, 2010, Earloomz Bluetooth headsets will feature more than 400 different designs of licensed art, pop culture icons, entertainment properties, cartoon characters, sports teams, and original commissioned artwork. There will be a style to fit everyone’s personality whether they are infatuated with a popular recording artist like Lady Gaga, pop-culture icons like Paul Frank, sci-fi, celebrated movies, a NBA sports team, classic cartoon characters, skulls, or even cheetah prints. Earloomz will allow Bluetooth users to express their individualism and share their passions while staying hands-free when in the car or on-the-go.

Being an individual doesn’t mean that the specifications on the Bluetooth earpiece has to suffer. Sporting Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR technology, noise cancellation, microphone noise reduction, lowered power consumption, voice prompts and support for multiple devices. The Earloomz GL500 Glamorous Life will retail for $59.99 (initially) on the Earloomz website.

[ Links: Earloomz ]

Nokia is known for a lot of things, marketing hype sometimes being one of them; however when I heard about the Nokia BH-905 “high performance” Bluetooth headphones with active noise reduction, my cynical side immediately kicked in. I mean, what could be so “high performance” about Bluetooth headsets?

So let’s see… Nokia states this about their headphones:

Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, Headset Profile (HSP) 1.2, Hands-Free Profile (HFP) 1.1, A2DP 1.2
3.5mm Nokia AV (3.5mm standard jack) connectivity
Frequency Response: 15Hz to 20kHz
Advanced Wolfson Microelectronics myZone Ambient Noise Cancellation for up to 99% noise reduction
10 microphones – 8 for noise cancelling, 2 for capturing speech in loud surroundings
Talk Time: 24 Hours, 15 Hours with noise cancellation active
Music Playback: 25 Hours, 16 Hours with noise cancellation active
Standby Time: Up to 600 Hours

The kind folks from Nokia and WOMWorld met my cynicism head-on and sent a pair of their Nokia BH-905 and a Nokia N97 to test things out. Upon opening the box, you get a good look at the size of these headphones. Of course, these are quite a bit more bulky than your typical in-ear solution; however the noise cancellation feature for calls as well as voice capture easily place the Nokia BH-905 top of it’s class. In the future, remind me to temper my cynical side.

Mind you, my normal Bluetooth earpiece is now a Motorola Endeavor HX1 with “Crystal Talk” and before that, an Aliph Jawbone 2 with their “Noise Assassin” noise cancellation. So making simple phone calls, people could still hear some road noise or if I were in the office, they could hear the server fans with the Jawbone or my Motorola. With the Nokia BH-905, I was constantly asked if I were being still, if I were still there or if I had turned off everything in my background; which wasn’t the case.

Another test happened while downtown, I sat down on a bench across from the street from some construction, decided to listen to some music. Instead of the normal reaction by some of the more inexpensive noise cancellation headphones where they just make the music louder and call that “noise cancellation”, the headphones pushed out the noise and allowed me to listen to my music from the phone without incident. Just flick the switch on the bottom left headphone and active noise cancellation kicks in noticeably. Since I decided to use a phone the entire time, I received a few phone calls while downtown and while they could hear some things in the background – it does not mute your surroundings to a point of where it’s unnatural, they could easily hear me over everything.

Note: Since these cover both ears, I would not suggest using these while driving. But using these in the workplace, in the home, while you travel on airplanes, I’d consider these headphones the first thing I’d grab before travel.

There’s a lot of technology that goes into the Nokia BH-905. Noise cancellation, superior Bluetooth compatibility, connectivity with just about any device that has either a headphone plug (yes, even the Apple iPhone) or your home stereo, to a pretty cool but huge carrying case to safely secure your attachments, charger and secure your player or phone in its exterior pocket… ok, I’m beating around the bush. The Nokia BH-905 isn’t cheap. But it’s not built cheap. It doesn’t feel cheap. It doesn’t look cheap. And it doesn’t work cheaply either – meaning, it actually does what Nokia says. Which, forces my cynical side to say that these headphones are definitely better than the Bose QuietComfort 3 headphones for about $100 less.

Nokia, I’m impressed by these headphones. There, I said it. It’s a shame that I had to send these back too…

The only cons to the Nokia BH-905 would be the fact that Nokia didn’t use the Micro-USB connector for recharging, much like the Nokia N97 or even my Motorola Endeavor HX1 headset and the price being another possible detractor. With that said, I still give the Nokia BH-905 a 4.5 out of 5 (Highly Recommended) score.

[ Links: Nokia, Nokia BH-905, WOMWorld ]

Months after announcing that it was “coming”, Motorola finally has unleashed the Motorola Endeavor HX1 [ site here ] for sale in the US and perhaps the Aliph Jawbone Prime [ site here ] first true competition.

With features like true bone conduction via an in-ear sensor and CrystalTalk™ Noise Reduction to make your calls all nice and clear, the Motorola Endeavor HX1 almost makes it worthwhile to stick that huge earpiece in your ear. You’ll still look like a half-Borg and invariably confuse people that are on the other side of your face that won’t see the earpiece and assume you’re talking to them; but the fact that you can use both hands while in traffic or in Starbucks makes it all worth it. Right?

• Talk Time: Up to 7 hours
• Standby Time: Up to 10 days
• Bone Conduction
• CrystalTalk™ Technology
• 2-Microphones
• Voice Prompts
• Dimensions: (L) 47mm x (W) 18mm x (H) 12mm
• Weight: 13 grams

Currently on sale for $129 initially as a Sprint exclusive, however you can surely pair it with any phone that supports Bluetooth 2.0 and higher.
[ Motorola Endeavor HX1 ] [ Sprint: Motorola HX1 Purchase ]